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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Paul now view the bare roofs?

2. What does Paul contemplate about the following morning in Part 2?

3. What is Paul deliberately delaying on the way home from school?

4. How does Paul hear the bell ring during his secret's first appearance?

5. What does Paul notice about his window as he stands underneath it in Part 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Paul describe his walk home in Part 2, and why?

2. What are some of the descriptions Paul uses to explain how important his secret is in Part 1?

3. Why does Aiken choose to set the story in Paul's mind?

4. What does Paul's mother symbolize at the end of the story?

5. When does the doctor's visit take place in Part 3, and why is the timing significant?

6. What is the first thing that the doctor does, and how does Paul respond to it?

7. What does the snow do for the first time in Part 3, and what does this represent?

8. What is interesting about the weather on Paul's way home, and what does it symbolize?

9. What reasoning does the snow give to Paul for the increasing darkness?

10. What is the birdhouse like, and how does Paul use it as a delay?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The doctor's examination is a crucial turning point in the story, and for Paul.

1) Describe the doctor's personality and characteristics. How do they add to his ability to evaluate Paul accurately?

2) Describe Paul's interpretation of the doctor and his actions. How does he view himself in comparison to the doctor? Why?

3) What is the major discovery that the doctor makes about Paul? How does he make it? Why does the author choose this character to make it, and how is it important to the story?

Essay Topic 2

In an analysis of Paul's walk home from school in Part 2, provide answers to the following:

1) What are three examples of things that Paul sees, and how do they represent the character's state of mind?

2) How is the snow used to counter reality? Describe the way Paul views the snow in comparison to the real things he encounters.

3) What is his general impression of the outside world? How has it changed, and why?

Essay Topic 3

Explain what Paul's thought process is pertaining to his secret and hiding it from everyone.

1) Why does it become more valuable to him if no one is aware of it? How does he think it elevates him to a superior place? Which events in the story illustrate that the most?

2) What does Paul think would happen if his parents learned about the snow? How does he think they would react, and why is that an integral part in his decision to keep it from them?

3) What is the sacrifice that Paul is willing to make with regard to his parents? How is his rationalization one of the deepest signs of his detachment? What is so disturbing about it, and why is he unable to understand the severity of what he is thinking?

(see the answer keys)

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